"Revenge, huh? I guess I'm starting to understand the old saying: 'When you live by the sword, you die by the sword'." Zhang Tian shook his head slightly, then turned and left.
He found a cool spot to sit, took out his phone, and began to look up this year's Starter Pokémon. The trio of starters offered by the Pokémon Research Institute changed every year, so even though he had looked up past years' information, he had no idea what this year's would be.
"Fuecoco, Sprigatito, Quaxly." His eyes lit up when he saw this year's selection.
"I can't believe it's the Generation 9 starters. I'm in luck." He was very pleased. Among the first nine generations of starters, the ninth generation was considered top-tier. Fuecoco, in particular, evolved into a powerful special attacker. Zhang Tian had once used its final form, Skeledirge, to steamroll major bosses in the game.
The reason Skeledirge was so powerful was its unique move, Torch Song, which raised its Special Attack by one stage every time it was used. It also had access to moves like Yawn and Snarl for crowd control. Furthermore, Skeledirge had a bulky stat distribution, making it quite durable. While not a super-tank, it was tougher than most Pokémon. Paired with its Blaze ability, it could often turn the tables and sweep opponents when at low health. Its only drawback was its low Speed stat of 66. But even so, with its ability to control the battlefield, deal damage, and take hits, it was incredibly strong.
In the real world, Skeledirge was even more formidable because of its Ghost typing. Ghost-type Pokémon typically had two abilities: hiding in shadows and turning invisible. That was why Zhang Tian couldn't understand why Hao Fei had chosen Meowscarada. Was Skeledirge not good enough? Although Sprigatito was cute and Meowscarada was beautiful, looks didn't win battles in the Pokémon world. Meowscarada wasn't a Gardevoir, which was both beautiful and powerful, with the ability to teleport.
At four o'clock that afternoon, the Pokémon Institute began distributing the traveling trainer rewards.
"Student Zhang Tian, here is your Pokédex, your ID, and your traveling trainer certificate. Don't lose them," a staff member said, handing him a red device. "If you do, it will cost a lot to replace them. By the way, your seeded status has been registered. Just show your Pokédex at any Pokémon Center to receive your 20% discount."
"I'll remember. Thank you," Zhang Tian said, taking the Pokédex.
"Your starter Pokémon is in the back. Just show them your Pokédex," the staff member added, pointing to a door behind him.
Zhang Tian walked through the door and saw a room full of Fuecoco, Quaxly, and Sprigatito running around.
"A new traveling trainer. Please choose your starter," a bald professor said with a smile.
Zhang Tian glanced around and chose the highest-level Fuecoco.
Fuecoco
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze (+50% power to Fire-type moves when at low health.)
Level: 12 (Entry Tier)
"Good eye. That's the one with the most potential in the institute," the professor said. He recalled the Fuecoco into a Poké Ball and handed it to Zhang Tian. "Good luck, young man. I hope to see you in the Champion League or the Elite Four Challenge one day." It was a blessing he gave to every new trainer, even though the chances of them reaching such heights were slim.
"Thank you for your blessing. I will definitely become the Champion," Zhang Tian said, accepting the Poké Ball.
"Ah, to be young," the professor thought, watching him leave. He, too, had once dreamed of becoming the Champion. But talent, strength, and family wealth were all indispensable, and he had ultimately failed.
After clipping the Pokédex to his belt, Zhang Tian walked into a jewelry store and sold all the gold coins from his backpack. Just as he had expected, his status as an elite trainer meant that selling a bit of gold didn't cause any stir.
Each gold coin weighed about 33 grams. 504 coins totaled 16,632 grams. At a buyback price of 442 yuan per gram, he received over 7 million yuan.
"Finally, I'm rich." He looked at his new bank balance with satisfaction and then strode into the Pokémon Center. "What should I buy?" He looked at the dazzling array of goods and began to think. "A spatial backpack, a Pokémon with a Superpower typing, and some held items for my current team. Since my monster Pokémon don't eat much, I might be able to afford a few more Pokémon to raise."
After much thought, he made his selections.
One: The largest spatial backpack.
Description: 1000 cubic meters of storage space, equivalent to a 10x10x10 meter container.
Price: 1,000,000 yuan
Two: A Ralts, the pre-evolution of Gardevoir.
Price: 700,000 yuan
How could a trainer not have a Gardevoir? No matter which version of the game he played, he always had one. She was the "waifu" beast, after all. More importantly, Gardevoir could teleport, which was incredibly useful for both escaping and chasing enemies. Pokémon that could use Teleport were rare and valuable, which was why Ralts was one of the most expensive non-pseudo-legendary Pokémon. The only ones more expensive were Pokémon with powerful hidden abilities, like a Contrary Serperior.
Three: A Gastly, the pre-evolution of Gengar.
Price: 80,000 yuan
His reasoning for choosing Gastly was simple: Gengar was the perfect bodyguard. It could hide in his shadow to protect him and was very powerful in its own right.
Four: A Growlithe with the Intimidate ability.
Price: 260,000 yuan
Most of the monsters in the Monster Hunter world were physical attackers, like Diablos, Tigrex, and Glavenus. Intimidate lowered the opponent's Attack stat by one stage, reducing their physical damage to two-thirds of the original. It was the perfect counter. Furthermore, at Level 34, Growlithe could learn the powerful move Extreme Speed, which was why it was so expensive. Its evolution, Arcanine, was strong, handsome, and the epitome of both power and style.
Five: Thirty assorted held items.
Total Price: 3,000,000 yuan
Six: One hundred Luxury Balls.
Total Price: 100,000 yuan